This thesis studies how the perception of private organizations as having unique advantages in aid work grew in Norwegian aid discourse. I will investigate when the conception that private organizations have these unique advantages began dominating Norwegian public debate, and discuss reasons why it would be advantageous to promote organizations as ideally suited to run aid programs.

In chapter two, I'll describe the development of the collaboration of state and the private organizations in aid work.

In chapter three I'll focus on the organizations relationship to the different part of the Norwegian state.

In chapter four I study the perception of private organizations as having unique advantages in aid work. By using Laclau and Mouffe's theory of discourse analysis, I argue that there were two public discourses of aid in Norwegian public debate in the 1970s, and that this helped making the organizations attractive when the development aid strategies were changed towards the end of the 1970s.

Chapter five discusses the increasing administrative pressure in Norad. By investigating the rise in administrative costs, I assess the possibility that private organizations worked as administrative relief for the Directorate.

In chapter six, I describe how the public information about and the press' conception of Norwegian foreign aid helped private organizations solidify their position in aid work.

In chapter seven, I first go through the most central findings of the thesis, before I turn to the future and consider possible uses for this thesis.